Liquid Cat

My Liquid Cat fabric is up for voting in Spoonflower's Cubist Cats challenge of the week.

Collections

I'm always curious to find out what dear little objects people hold close to their hearts. Often times collections go beyond the typical stamps, marbles, and post cards. I recall reading a magazine article about a man who collects vintage doll heads--yes, (previously detached) heads of dolls that happen to be rolling around flea markets and antique stores--and stores them in a big, fat glass-front cabinet. Personally, if I woke up and saw all those eyes peering at me from the dark I'd squeal in terror, but hey, collections are wonderfully subjective. Here's what I'm drawn to:

 Knobs: I feel like Aunt Clara from Bewitched. Ha! I've been amassing them for future furniture revamps. I've already spruced up the drawers on my two desks and turned a chunk of moulding into a rack of hooks.

 Chandelier crystals: They're sparkly, they're geometric, they're glamorous, and they're a part of the whole Pollyanna optimism mentality. I'll make a chandelier some day.

Doilies: I don't know how to crochet (...yet...), so these ready-to-go bits of lace are great for a variety of projects from collars to buntings. They are readily available and varied in design.

Fabric: If it's pretty, I'll take it. If it's pretty, I'll use it for something. It could be a big chunk or a little chunk and I don't care. I'll turn it into a shirt or tack it to my wall and stare at it. Fabric is my thing. Oh, and a good floral fabric is just too delightful for words.

Vintage sewing patterns: These guys are beautifully illustrated, frameable, and symbolize fashionable potential and former Home Ec glory days. Plus, they can make some cleverly constructed and flattering garments.

Paper: Everything from designer sheets to inspirational magazine clippings to metallic envelope linings makes the cut. I have a box under my bed several inches deep in the glorious stuff; I guess it's an extension of my love for surface pattern design.

Vintage books: In addition to hunting down old editions of classic reads, I'm drawn to books with amusing titles or beautiful illustrations. I also have a mini challenge with myself to find the oldest book possible. My oldest running date is 1887!

Frames: Alas, ornate frames are the closest things I can get to chunks of European architecture. They are arguably even nicer hung empty.
Basically, I love how collections are personal groupings of inspirational objects. They can be used to make more pretty things or they can just be gaped at, but either way a collection gives a collector a little flutter of joy in their search for beauty. What do you collect?

Inspiration: Telegram

This vignette is in the Railway Museum of Eastern Ontario, in Smiths Falls, Ontario. I especially like the glossy lanterns and chipping red paint on the pipe.

Frolicking Fleecy

My Frolicking Fleecy fabric design is up for voting in Spoonflower's Ditsy Sheep challenge of the week. It's a sheep-filled calico!

For You, Darling

I found this valentine in my grandmother's scrapbook from the late 1950s. It was given to her by the handsome dude who's kissing her in the post below!

Secret Snapshot

I adore this '50s photo of my grandparents young and in love, and their coy caption!

You Rock

"If only you could sense how important you are to the lives of those you meet; how important you can be to people you may never even dream of. There is something of yourself that you leave at every meeting with another person." 

--Fred Rogers   

Little House

Happy 148th Birthday Laura Ingalls Wilder!

Keys to Happiness

I picked up Keys to Happiness at a church garage sale. It is a 1955 compilation of articles written in the 1940s and '50s about various life subjects. On top of being a gorgeous book, it has a lot of simple wisdom packed into it in the form of amusing, kindly written words. 

The Italian Doors

My friend Anni took this gorgeous photo in Tuscany, Italy. It reminds me of Van Gogh's Exterior of a Restaurant at Asnières; I adore its casual elegance.